What can be done with my lawn during the winter months?

First, absolutely do not fertilize! One of the most important aspects of creating a healthy lawn is having the soil pH around 6.8 for turf plants. Soil pH is a measure of the number of hydrogen ions (H+) present in a solution. Simply speaking it is a measure of alkalinity and acidity. During the fall or winter months it is a good practice to take a soil pH reading and make any adjustments. There are a number of direct and indirect benefits for the grass plants. First, when the soil pH is 6.5 to 7.0 most nutrients are readily available for uptake by the grass plant. Also, calcium and magnesium though secondary nutrients have been found to have a critical role in grass plant health. At Horticultural Solutions we use a lot of new and improved products such as Solu-Cal , Cal-Turf™ and Mag-Turf™. These products have chelating agents that bind to plant nutrients increasing solubility and availability. Calcium and magnesium play a structural role in chlorophyll, cell formation, cell strength and root hair development. Additionally, they aid in the plants water uptake and evaporation and improve the availability of phosphorus. The direct benefits include turf that is more resistant to disease and stress as well as making fertilizer applications most effective.

Don't think you can wait until spring to apply your winterizer fertilizer

The term winterizer fertilizer in the marketing world means it is high in nitrogen. The ideal time to fertilize cool season turf with nitrogen is during the Autumn months. It is a good practice to fertilize with a slow release form of nitrogen. During the Autumn months the grass needs fertilizer to build up food storage, carbohydrates and promote root development. Fall fertilizing is essential because with cool season turf you reverse the application in the spring. During the spring months you generally want to apply more potassium and less nitrogen if any at all. Excessive nitrogen in the spring has no benefit for the turfgrass and leads to excessive growth, depletion of reserves and a greater uptake of water weakening the plant before summer stress.

Why does my lawn have a fungus and is there a cure?

Most of the turf fungus in this region occurs during the hot humid summer months. There are not any known cures that will prevent or stop fungus entirely, but there are ways to control fungus and it's severity. Think in terms of foot fungus when it comes to lawn fungus. There are both mechanical practices, cultural practices and medicines (Fungicides). When and individual gets athletes foot they can use a fungicide and fix the problem, but it may return when conditions are favorable. The same holds true with turf fungus. Some individuals have all the right conditions to get athletes foot and they don't, while others take all the proper care and precautions and they still get athletes foot. As with people, some lawns are more prone to getting fungus than others. Some fungus such as red thread is linked to low nitrogen while other fungus (brown patch) is promoted by excessive nitrogen leading to a complex situation. More information about fungus can be found on our web page under Horticultural Tips, sub heading Disease information.

My lawn is not lush green during the Summer

The majority of lawns grown in northern Virginia are fescue or bluegrass. Both of these grasses are considered cool season turf grasses. The ideal daytime temperatures for growing these grasses are between 60 – 75 degrees. During June through August our region experiences temperatures that are not favorable for cool season turf. You may notice areas of your lawn that do not receive afternoon sun will look better. Areas of the lawn experiencing sun all day will dry out faster and show more signs of summer stress. Often, you will notice that the grass along the eastern and northern side of the house looks better than the grass exposed to the intense sun all day. We apply potassium to our lawns to better survive the summer months and yield a quicker recovery. Watering is another issue. Our web page has watering instructions for maintaining a healthy lawn appearance; however, for those who do not water it typically does not mean your lawn will die. Cool season turf is hardy and will bounce back in the autumn months. If you think about that picnic on a hot summer day, when you get hot what’s the first thing you want to do? Get in the shade or find the air conditioning and drink a bottle of cold water or better yet, a beer.

Should I use a Bag a Bug Trap?

Many people use Bag-a-Bug traps to catch Japanese Beetles. Do they work? Should I use them in my landscape? When should I use a trap? These are common questions I get from customers and here is a quick breakdown of my opinion and experience with them. First, they do catch and kill Japanese beetles; however, you are only catching a small percentage of what you are attracting to your landscape and often the beetle lays its eggs in your lawn before they enter the bag. If your landscape is not attracting a lot of beetles do not use these bags because you are going to give them a reason to come into your landscape. The Japanese beetle lays its eggs in the grass so if you decide to use these bags be certain to use them on the perimeter of your landscape and away from desirable plants. Personally, I believe they should only be used along with a preventative treatment of grub control to be certain you are controlling both the adult stage and larvae stage of the Japanese Beetle. Simply because you caught a lot of Beetles in July does not mean you will not have grubs and damage to the lawn in September. I have seen a lot of grub damage in lawns where people have used these traps.

Look out for the Japanese Beetle

Today, I noticed some Japanese beetles on my rose plants and crape myrtle trees. As these beetles feed on your landscape plants they will lay eggs in your turf and in August, September and October the larvae will feed on the roots of your turf causing considerable damage to your lawn. The best way to protect your lawn if you have Japanese beetles or have had grubs in the past years is by applying a systemic insect control now as a preventative.